The league was organized on November 22, 1917, in Montreal, Canada, during World War I after the suspension of operations of its predecessor organization, the National Hockey Association (NHA), which had been founded in 1909.[4] It started with four teams and, through a series of expansions, contractions, and relocations, the league is now composed of 30 active franchises. After a labour dispute that led to the cancellation of the entire 2004–05 season, the league resumed play under a new collective bargaining agreement that included a salary cap. In 2009, the NHL enjoyed record highs in terms of sponsorships, crowds and television audiences.[5]

The NHL draws many highly skilled players from all over the world and currently has players from about 20 different countries.[6] Although Canadians have historically constituted the majority of the players in the NHL, over the past four plus decades the percentages of American and European trained players have increased both because of the NHL's continued expansion from six to thirty clubs since 1967, and the increased availability of highly skilled European players, especially from former Eastern Bloc countries.[7]

History

Early years

We didn't throw [Toronto Blueshirts owner] Eddie Livingstone out. Perish the thought. That would have been illegal and unfair. Also, it wouldn't have been sporting. We just resigned, and wished him a fine future with his National Association franchise.

A series of disputes in the National Hockey Association (NHA) with Toronto Blueshirts owner Eddie Livingstone led the other owners, representing the Montreal Canadiens, Montreal Wanderers, Ottawa Senators, and Quebec Bulldogs to meet at the Windsor Hotel in Montreal to talk about the NHA's future.[9] Realizing the league constitution left them unable to force Livingstone out, the four teams voted instead to suspend the NHA, and on November 26, 1917, formed the National Hockey League.[10] While a full member of the new league, the Bulldogs were unable to play, and the remaining owners created a new team in Toronto to compete with the Canadiens, Wanderers and Senators.[11] The first games were played three weeks later on December 19. Joe Malone scored five goals in a 7–4 victory for the Canadiens over the Senators on opening night; he finished the 1917–18 season with 44 goals in 20 games.[12] The league nearly collapsed in January 1918 when the Montreal Arena burned down, causing the Wanderers to cease operations and forcing the Canadiens to hastily find a new arena.[13] The NHL continued on as a three-team league until Quebec returned in 1919.[14]

The Great Depression and the onset of World War II took a toll on the league. The Pirates became the Philadelphia Quakers in 1930, then folded one year later. The Senators likewise became the St. Louis Eagles in 1934, also lasting only one year.[27] The Canadiens were nearly sold and relocated to Cleveland, Ohio in 1936 before a trio of local owners purchased the team and kept them in Montreal.[28] The Maroons did not survive, however, as they suspended operations in 1938.[29] The Americans were suspended in 1942 due to a lack of players, but never revived.[30] The league was reduced to six teams for the 1942–43 NHL season: the Boston Bruins, Chicago Black Hawks, Detroit Red Wings, Montreal Canadiens, New York Rangers and Toronto Maple Leafs. These six teams remained constant for 25 years, a period known as the Original Six.

The first NHL All-Star Game was held in 1934 to benefit Ace Bailey, whose career ended on a vicious hit by Eddie Shore.[31] The second was held in 1937 in support of Howie Morenz's family when he died of a coronary embolism after breaking his leg during a game. His teammate Aurel Joliat said that Morenz "died of a broken heart" when he learned he would never play hockey again.[32]Maurice "Rocket" Richard became the first player to score 50 goals, doing so in a 50 game season.[33] Ten years later he was suspended for the 1955 Stanley Cup playoffs for punching a linesman, an incident that led to the Richard Riot.[34] He returned to lead the Canadiens to five consecutive titles between 1956 and 1960, a record no team has matched.[35]Willie O'Ree broke the NHL's colour barrier on January 18, 1958 when he made his debut with the Boston Bruins and became the first black player in league history.[36]

The NHL fought the WHA for players, losing 67 to the new league in its first season of 1972–73,[42] including Bobby Hull, who signed a ten year, $2.5 million contract with the Winnipeg Jets, the largest in hockey history at the time.[43] The NHL attempted to block the defections in court, though a countersuit by the WHA led to a Philadelphia judge ruling the NHL's reserve clause to be illegal, eliminating the elder league's monopoly over the players.[44] Seven years of battling for players and markets financially damaged both leagues, leading to a 1979 merger agreement that saw the WHA cease operations while the NHL absorbed the Jets, Edmonton Oilers, Hartford Whalers and Quebec Nordiques.[45]

Labour issues

There have been three league-wide work stoppages in NHL history, all happening between 1992 and 2005.

The first was a strike by the National Hockey League Players Association in April 1992 which lasted for 10 days, but the strike was settled quickly and all affected games were rescheduled.[48] A lockout at the start of the 1994–95 season forced the league to reduce the schedule from 84 games to just 48, with the teams playing only intra-conference games during the reduced season.[48] The resulting collective bargaining agreement was set for renegotiation in 1998 and extended to September 15, 2004.[49]

With no new agreement in hand when the existing contract expired on September 15, 2004, league commissioner Gary Bettman announced a lockout of the players union and cessation of operations by the NHL head office.[49] The lockout shut down the league for 310 days, the longest in sports history; the NHL was the first professional sports league to lose an entire season.[49] The league vowed to install what it dubbed "cost certainty" for its teams, but the NHL Players Association countered that the move was little more than a euphemism for a salary cap, which the union initially said it would not accept. A new collective bargaining agreement was ratified in July 2005 with a term of six years with an option of extending the collective bargaining agreement for an additional year at the end of the term, allowing the NHL to resume as of the 2005–06 season.[49]

On October 5, 2005, the first post-lockout NHL season took to the ice with 15 games, and consequently all 30 teams. Of those 15 games, 11 were in front of sell-out crowds.[50] The NHL received record attendance in the 2005–06 season. 20,854,169 fans, an average of 16,955 per game, was a 1.2% increase over the previous mark held in the 2001–02 season.[51] Also, the Montreal Canadiens, Calgary Flames, Colorado Avalanche, Minnesota Wild, Tampa Bay Lightning, and the Vancouver Canucks sold out all of their home games;[51][52] all six Canadian teams played to 98% capacity or better at every home game.[51] 24 of the 30 clubs finished even or ahead of their 2003–04 mark. The Pittsburgh Penguins had the highest increase at 33%, mainly because of 18-year-old first overall draft pick Sidney Crosby.[51][53] After losing a season to a labour dispute in 2005, attendance figures for League teams have returned to solid ground; the League's TV audience was slower to rebound because of ESPN's decision to drop the sport from its schedule.[54] The NHL's post-lockout agreement with NBC gave the league a share of revenue from each game's advertising sales, rather than the usual lump sum paid up front for game rights. The NHL is estimated to earn annual revenue of around $2.27 billion.[54]

The debut of the Winter Classic, an outdoor regular season NHL game held on New Year's Day 2008, was a major success for the league. The game has since become a permanent staple of the NHL schedule. This, along with the transition to a national "Game of the Week" and an annual "Hockey Day in America" regional coverage, has helped increase the NHL's regular season television viewership, which is now carried by NBC and Versus. These improvements led NBC and Versus to sign a ten-year broadcast deal paying $200 million per year for both cable and broadcast rights; the deal will lead to further increases in television coverage on both outlets.

Organizational structure

The NHL Board of Governors is the ruling and governing body of the NHL. In this context, each NHL team is a member of the NHL, and each member appoints a Governor (usually the owner of the club), and two alternates to the Board. The current chairman of the Board is Boston Bruins owner, Jeremy Jacobs. The NHL Board of Governors exists to establish the policies of the NHL, and to uphold its constitution. Some of the responsibilities of the NHL Board of Governors include[55]:

review and approve any rule changes to the game

hiring and firing of the NHL commissioner

review and approve the purchase, sale, or relocation of any member club.

review and approve the salary caps for member clubs.

review and approve any changes to the structure of the game schedule

The Board of Governors meets twice per year, in June and December, with the exact date and place to be fixed by the NHL Commissioner.

Executives

The chief executive of the NHL is the commissioner. Some of the principal decision makers who serve under the authority of the NHL commissioner include:

Each National Hockey League regulation game is played between two teams and is 60 minutes long. The game is composed of three 20-minute periods with an intermission of either 15½ or 17 minutes (if nationally televised) between periods.[56] Television timeouts are taken at the first stoppage of play after 6, 10, and 14 minutes of elapsed time unless there is a power play or the first stoppage is the result of a goal scored. In these cases, the timeout will occur at the first stoppage after the penalty expires or the next stoppage after the goal, respectively. A new rule was introduced for the 2007–08 season that if the first stoppage of play is an icing, the TV timeout does not occur. This is to prevent players from getting a break despite not being allowed to change. At the end of the 60-minute regulation time, the team with the most goals wins the game. If a game is tied after regulation time, overtime ensues. During the regular season, overtime is a five-minute, four-player on four-player sudden-death period, in which the first team to score a goal wins the game. Until the 2005–06 season, if no team was able to score in the five-minute overtime, the game ended in a tie.

Beginning in the 2005–06 season, if the game is still tied at the end of overtime, the game enters a shootout. Three players for each team in turn take a penalty shot. The team with the most goals during the three-round shootout wins the game. If the game is still tied after the three shootout rounds, the shootout continues but becomes sudden death. Whichever team ultimately wins the shootout is awarded a goal in the game score and thus awarded two points in the standings. The losing team in overtime or shootout is awarded only one.[57] Shootout goals and saves are not tracked in hockey statistics; shootout statistics are tracked separately.

Shootouts do not occur during the playoffs. In the playoffs, sudden-death 20-minute five-on-five periods are played until one team scores. While in theory a game could continue indefinitely, only four games have reached five overtime periods, two have reached six, and none have gone beyond six.[58] There are no television timeouts during playoff overtime periods; the only break is to clean the loose ice at the first stoppage after the period is halfway finished.[59]

Hockey rink

National Hockey League games are played on a rectangular hockey rink with rounded corners surrounded by walls and plexiglass. It measures 25.91 by 60.92 metres (85 by 200 ft) in the NHL,[60] while international standards call for a rink measuring 29–30 metres by 60–61 metres (95.14–98.43 ft by 196.85–200.13 ft). The center line divides the ice in half,[61] and is used to judge icing violations. There are two blue lines that divide the rink roughly into thirds, which divide the ice into two attacking and one neutral zone.[61] Near the end of both ends of the rink, there is a thin red goal line spanning the width of the ice, which is used to judge goals and icing calls.

Starting in the 2005–2006 season, after testing in the American Hockey League, a trapezoidal area behind each goal net has been introduced.[62] The goaltender can only play the puck within the area between the trapezoids or in front of the goal line; if the goaltender plays the puck behind the goal line and outside the trapezoidal area, a two minute minor penalty for delay of game is assessed by the referees.[63]

Rules

While the National Hockey League follows the general rules of ice hockey, it differs slightly from those used in international games organized by the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) such as the Olympics. Infractions of the rules can lead to either the stoppage of play in the case of offside and icing calls, or a penalty call for more serious infractions.

During the 2004–05 lockout, the league changed some of the rules regarding being offside. First, the league removed the "offside pass" or "two-line pass" rule, which required a stoppage in play if a pass originating from inside a team's defending zone was completed on the offensive side of the center line, unless the puck crossed the line before the player.[64] Furthermore, the league reinstated the "tag-up offside" which allows an attacking player a chance to get back onside by returning to the neutral zone.[64] The changes to the offside rule were among several rule changes intended to increase overall scoring,[64] which had been in decline since the expansion years of the mid-nineties and the increased prevalence of the neutral zone trap.

Another rule difference between the NHL and the IIHF rules concerns how icings are called. In the NHL, a linesman stops play due to icing if a defending player (other than the goaltender) touches the puck before an attacking player is able to,[65] in contrast to the IIHF rules where play is stopped the moment the puck crosses the goal line. As a result of the rule changes following the 2004–05 lockout, when a team is guilty of icing the puck they are not allowed to make a line change, or skater substitution of any sort (except for a clearly injured player) before the following faceoff.[65]

The NHL and IIHF differ also in penalty rules. The NHL, in addition to the minor and double minor penalties called in IIHF games, calls major penalties which are more dangerous infractions of the rules, such as fighting, and have a duration of five minutes.[66] This is in contrast to the IIHF rule, in which players who fight are ejected from the game.[67] Usually a penalized team cannot replace a player that is penalized on the ice and is thus shorthanded for the duration of the penalty,[68] but if the penalties are coincidental, for example when two players fight, both teams remain at full strength. Also, unlike minor penalties, major penalties must be served to their full completion, regardless of number of goals scored during the power play.[68]

The NHL and the NHLPA created a stringent anti-doping policy in the new CBA of September 2005. The policy provides for a 20 game suspension for a first positive test, a 60 game suspension for a second positive test, and a lifetime suspension for a third positive test.[69]

The National Hockey League originated in 1917 with four Canadian teams, which after a tumultous first quarter century, found stability in the Original Six era spanning 1942 – 1967 with four franchises in the United States joining two Canadian clubs. Through a sequence of team expansions, reductions, and relocations the NHL currently consists of 30 teams, 23 of which are based in the United States and seven in Canada. The Montreal Canadiens are the most successful franchise with 24 Stanley Cup championships (23 as an NHL team, 1 as an NHA team); in the four major professional sports leagues the Montreal Canadiens are only surpassed in the number of championships by the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball, who have three more. The next most successful franchise is the Toronto Maple Leafs with 13 Stanley Cup championships, but they have not won one since 1967. The Detroit Red Wings, with 11 Stanley Cup championships, are the most successful American franchise. The longest streak of winning the Stanley Cup in consecutive years is five, held by the Montreal Canadiens from 1955–56 to 1959–60; the New York Islanders (1980–1983) and the Montreal Canadiens (1976–1979) have four-year championship streaks.[70] The 1977 edition of the Montreal Canadiens, the second of four straight Stanley Cup champions, was named by ESPN as the second greatest sports team of all-time.[71]

Of all the major leagues in North America, the NHL is the only league to field teams that play in two countries' capital cities, Ottawa, Ontario and Washington, D.C.

The current league organization divides the teams into two conferences: the Eastern Conference and the Western Conference. Each conference has three divisions, and each division has five teams. The current organization has roots in the 1998–99 season when a league realignment added two divisions to bring the total number of divisions to six; the current team alignment began with the 2000–01 season when the Minnesota Wild and the Columbus Blue Jackets joined the league as expansion teams.

Sixteen of the NHL's thirty teams are located in the Eastern Time Zone. As of the 2011–12 season, the Detroit Red Wings and Columbus Blue Jackets are the only Eastern Time teams in the Western Conference, and Winnipeg is the only non-Eastern Time team in the Eastern Conference (an alignment resulting from the franchise's late move out of Atlanta). Realignment is widely expected at some point subsequent to the 2011–12 season.[72]

Season structure

The National Hockey League season is divided into an exhibition season (September), a regular season (from the first week in October through early to mid April) and a postseason (the Stanley Cup playoffs). During the exhibition season, teams may play other teams from the NHL. They also often compete against European clubs, such as clubs from the Russian KHL. During the regular season, clubs play each other in a predefined schedule. The Stanley Cup playoffs, which go from April to the beginning of June, is an elimination tournament where two teams play against each other to win a best-of-seven series in order to advance to the next round. The final remaining team is crowned the Stanley Cup champion. Beginning in 2007, the NHL regular season has begun in Europe while teams not involved complete their exhibition schedule.

In the regular season, each team plays 82 games; 41 games at home and 41 on the road. Each team plays 24 games in its division—6 against each divisional opponent—and 40 games against non-divisional intra-conference opponents—4 games against every team in the other two divisions of its conference. Each team plays every team in the other conference at least once—one game each against 12 teams and two games against the remaining 3 teams. Prior to the 2008–2009 season, teams played 32 games within their division—8 games against each team in the division—and 10 inter-conference games—1 game against each team in two of the three divisions in the opposite conference.[79] The two divisions faced from the opposite conference were rotated every year, much like interleague play in Major League Baseball. As with the current system, each team played 4 games against the other 10 teams in its conference outside of its division.

Unlike a majority of other North American sports leagues, the NHL's regular season standings are based on a point system instead of pure win-loss-tie percentages. Points are awarded for each game, where two points are awarded for a win, one point for losing in overtime or a shootout, and zero points for a loss in regulation. Among major professional sports leagues, the NHL is the only one to award a team points for losing in overtime.

At the end of the regular season, the team that finishes with the most points in each division is crowned the division champion. The league's overall leader is awarded the Presidents' Trophy. The three division champions along with the five other teams in each conference with the next highest number of points, for a total of 8 teams in each conference, qualify for the playoffs. The division winners are seeded one through three (even if a non-division winner has a higher point total), and the next five teams with the best records in the conference are seeded four through eight.[80] The Stanley Cup playoffs is an elimination tournament, where two teams battle to win a best-of-seven series in order to advance to the next round. The first round of the playoffs, or conference quarterfinals, consists of the first seed playing the eighth seed, the second playing the seventh, third playing the sixth, and the fourth playing the fifth.[80] In the second round, or conference semifinals, the NHL re-seeds the teams, with the top remaining conference seed playing against the lowest remaining seed, and the other two remaining conference teams pairing off. In the third round, the conference finals, the two remaining teams in each conference play each other, with the conference champions proceeding to the Stanley Cup Finals.

In each round the higher-ranked team is said to be the team with the home-ice advantage. Four of the seven games are played at this team's home venue—the first and second, and, when necessary, the fifth and seventh games—with the other games played at the lower-ranked team's home venue. In the Stanley Cup Finals, the team with the most points during the regular season is given home-ice advantage, regardless of where each team ranks in their own conference.

The National Hockey League presents a number of trophies each year. The most prestigious team award is the Stanley Cup, which is awarded to the league champion at the end of the Stanley Cup playoffs. The team that has the most points in the regular season is awarded the Presidents' Trophy. There are also numerous trophies that are awarded to players based on their statistics during the regular season; they include, among others, the Art Ross Trophy for the league scoring champion (goals and assists), the Maurice 'Rocket' Richard Trophy for the goal-scoring leader, and the William M. Jennings Trophy for the goalkeeper(s) for the team with the fewest goals against them. For the 2010–11 season these statistics-based trophies were awarded to Daniel Sedin of the Vancouver Canucks, Corey Perry of the Anaheim Ducks, and, dually, Roberto Luongo and Cory Schneider of the Vancouver Canucks respectively.

The other player trophies are voted on by the Professional Hockey Writers' Association or the team general managers.[81] These individual awards are presented at a formal ceremony held in late June after the playoffs have concluded. The most prestigious individual award is the Hart Memorial Trophy which is awarded annually to the Most Valuable Player; the voting is conducted by members of the Professional Hockey Writers Association to judge the player who is the most valuable to his team during the regular season. The Vezina Trophy is awarded annually to the person deemed the best goalkeeper as voted on by the general managers of the teams in the NHL. The James Norris Memorial Trophy is awarded annually to the National Hockey League's top defenceman, the Calder Memorial Trophy is awarded annually to the top rookie, and the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy is awarded to the player deemed to combine the highest degree of skill and sportsmanship; all three of these awards are voted on by members of the Professional Hockey Writers Association.

In addition to the regular season awards, the Conn Smythe Trophy is awarded annually to the most valuable player during the NHL's Stanley Cup playoffs. Furthermore, the top coach in the league wins the Jack Adams Award as selected by a poll of the National Hockey League Broadcasters Association. The National Hockey League publishes the names of the top three vote getters for all awards, and then names the award winner during the NHL Awards Ceremony.[81]

One interesting aspect for the trophies in the NHL is that the same trophy is reused every year for each of its awards. The Stanley Cup, much like its CFLcounterpart, is unique in this aspect, as opposed to the Vince Lombardi Trophy, Larry O'Brien Trophy, and Commissioner's Trophy, which have new ones made every year for that year's champion. Despite only one trophy being used, the names of the teams winning and the players are engraved every year on the Stanley Cup. The same can also be said for the other trophies reissued every year.

Players, coaches, officials, and team builders who have had notable careers are eligible to be voted into the Hockey Hall of Fame. Players cannot enter until three years have passed since their last professional game, the shortest such time period of any major sport. One unique consequence has been Hall of Fame members (specifically, Gordie Howe, Guy Lafleur, and Mario Lemieux) coming out of retirement to play once more.[82] If a player was deemed significant enough, the three-year wait would be waived; only ten individuals have been honoured in this manner.[83] In 1999, Wayne Gretzky joined the Hall and became the last player to have the three-year restriction waived.[83] After his induction, the Hall of Fame announced that Gretzky would be the last to have the waiting period waived.

Origin of players

In addition to Canadian and American born and trained players, who have historically composed a large majority of NHL rosters, the NHL also draws players from an expanding pool of other nations where organized and professional hockey is played. A steady stream of European players began entering the league in the 1970s, continuing into the 1980s. Most of the first wave of Europeans came from Sweden and Finland, with a small number of defectors from the Soviet Bloc. Since the collapse of the Soviet Bloc, political/ideological restrictions on the movement of hockey players from this region have disappeared, leading to a large influx of players mostly from Czech Republic, Slovakia and Russia into the NHL. Swedes, Finns, and other Western Europeans, who were always free to move to North America, came to the league in greater numbers than before. Many of the league's top players today come from these European countries, including: Ilya Kovalchuk, Henrik Sedin, Daniel Sedin, Henrik Zetterberg, Marian Hossa, Nicklas Lidstrom, Miikka Kiprusoff, Teemu Selanne, Zdeno Chara, Pavel Datsyuk, Evgeni Malkin, and Alexander Ovechkin.[84] European players were drafted and signed by NHL teams in an effort to bring in more "skilled offensive players",[85] although recently there has been a decline in European players as more American players enter the league.[86] The addition of European players changed the style of play in the NHL and European style hockey has been integrated in to the NHL game.[84] Conversely Canadian coaches and the Canadian style of play have been embraced by many European countries. Because of the continued success of Canadian teams in world tournaments many other countries are trying to model their development programs after Hockey Canada's.[87] In the 1998, 2002, 2006 and 2010 Winter Olympic years, the league voluntarily suspended its all star game and expanded the traditional all star break to allow NHL players an opportunity to represent their respective countries. The 2010 Winter Olympics were held in Vancouver, an NHL city. Currently, as of late 2010 there is no agreement in place between the NHL and the IOC regarding the 2014 Winter Olympic games in Russia.[88] The NHL has players from 18 different countries, with the majority (52.0 percent during the 2007–08 NHL season) coming from Canada.[89]

The following table shows the origins of every player (skaters and goaltenders) who played an NHL regular season game in the given year. The table follows the Hockey Hall of Fame convention of classifying players by the currently existing countries in which their birthplaces are located, without regard to their citizenship or where they were trained.

Television and radio

Canada

In Canada, National Hockey League games are aired nationally by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) and The Sports Network (TSN). CBC airs Hockey Night in Canada, a long-standing Canadian tradition dating to 1952,[106][107] and even prior to that on radio since the 1920s. The current incarnation of Hockey Night in Canada airs a weekly Saturday night double-header during the regular season, with the first game usually featuring at least one Eastern Canadian team, and the second game at least one Western Canadian team. TSN usually televises three or four games per week during the regular season, with their primary night being Wednesdays. Coverage of the first three rounds of the playoffs is split between CBC and TSN, with the former primarily televising any series involving Canadian teams. CBC also broadcasts the Stanley Cup Finals.

French language games are broadcast by the Réseau des sports (RDS) and Réseau Info-Sports (RIS), including all Montreal Canadiens games, selected Ottawa Senator games, and the playoffs.

United States

Historically, the NHL has never fared well on American television in comparison to the other major leagues in North America. While CBC's aforementioned Hockey Night in Canada has been a tradition since the 1950s, the league's American broadcast partners have been in constant flux for decades, ranging from such networks as CBS, SportsChannel America, the USA Network, Fox, ABC, and ESPN.

Since the 2005-06 season however, NHL games have aired nationally by the cable channel Versus (previously the "Outdoor Life Network" and to become "NBC Sports Network" in 2012) and by the broadcast network NBC.[108] Originally, NBC had a revenue-sharing agreement with the league to broadcast games, with no money paid up front by the network.[108] Versus had about 20 million fewer subscribers than ESPN when the NHL started on Versus, but its owner Comcast switched Versus from a digital tier to basic cable to make NHL games available to more cable subscribers as well as re-branded the network as a sports network.[108] For Versus, the NHL coverage was a good addition as Versus' ratings grew by about 275% when it showed an NHL game.

In January 2011, Comcast officially acquired NBC Universal, and then in April of that year the league negotiated a new 10-year deal with the merged media company, worth nearly $2 billion dollars. Comcast/NBC also announced that Versus would become NBC Sports Network, and both the cable channel and NBC would increase its number of games.[109]

XM Satellite Radio is the official satellite radio broadcaster of the NHL, as of July 1, 2007.[110] Between September 2005 and June 2007, the NHL's broadcasting rights were shared with both XM and Sirius Satellite Radio and were broadcast on just Sirius before the NHL lockout. XM used to broadcast more than 80% of NHL games, including all the play-offs and finals. Starting with the 2007–08 season, XM broadcasts every game.

NHL Network

The league co-owns the NHL Network, a television specialty channel devoted to the NHL. There are two versions, one for Canadian viewers and a separate one for those in the United States. The NHL Network is a joint venture with other media companies. CTV Specialty Television and Insight Sports are both minority owners of the Canadian version, while NBCUniversal is a minority owner of the American version.

The NHL Network's signature show is NHL on the Fly, which covers NHL news, highlights, interviews, and analysis. The NHL Network also airs live games, with the Canadian version primarily focusing on those featuring Canadian teams and the American version focusing on American teams.

Out-of-market sports packages

NHL Centre Ice for Canadian viewers and NHL Center Ice for American viewers are out-of-market sports packages available by most cable and satellite providers. These packages allow subscribers to see up to forty out-of-market NHL games a week using local and national television networks. The NHL also offers a pay service called NHL Gamecenter Live on its website, allowing people to also watch out-of-market games online. All these services have blackout restrictions; games that are available locally on TV, either via a regional network or a national one, are blacked out.

International

Outside of Canada and the United States, NHL games are broadcast across Europe on ESPN America which takes feeds from Versus, FSN, TSN and CBC (including Hockey Night in Canada), and MSG. Games can also be seen in the UK on ESPN, on Fox Sports in Australia,[111] on SKY Sport in Italy, on Viasat Sport in Russia, Norway, Finland, and Denmark on Viasat Hockey in Sweden[112] and in Portugal on SportTV.[113] In the Americas, NHL games are broadcast across Mexico, Central America and Dominican Republic on SKY México. Stanley Cup games can also be viewed in New Zealand on Sky Sport. In Brazil, the games will be broadcast on ESPN International.

The aforementioned NHL Gamecenter Live on NHL.com is also available for people outside Canada and the United States to watch games online, free from blackout restrictions.

Popularity

The NHL is considered one of the four major professional sports leagues in North America, along with Major League Baseball, the National Football League, and the National Basketball Association. The league is very prominent in Canada, where hockey is the most popular of these four major sports as well as the CFL.[114] Overall, hockey has the smallest total fan base of the four leagues, the smallest revenue from television, and the least sponsorship.[115]

While the NHL does not hold one of the largest fan bases in North America, it does hold one of the most affluent fan bases.[115] Studies by the Sports Marketing Group conducted from 1998 to 2004 show that the NHL's fan base is much more affluent than that of the PGA Tour.[116] A study done by the Stanford Graduate School of Business in 2004, found that NHL fans in America were the most educated and affluent of the four major leagues. They were also found to be substantially more computer literate than the other fans. Further it noted that season-ticket sales were more prominent in the NHL than the other three because of the ability of the NHL fan to purchase them, something more out of reach for fans of the other leagues.[115] According to Reuters in 2010, the largest demographic of NHL fans was highly sought after group males aged 18–34, who were also shown to be more "tech savvy" than most fans.[117]

The NHL estimates that fully half of its fan base roots for teams in outside markets. Beginning in 2008, under the direction of Chief Operating Officer John Collins, the NHL began a shift toward using digital technology to market to fans to capitalize on this.

This has boosted viewership metrics for the NHL. The 2010 Stanley Cup play-offs saw the largest audience in the history of the sport "after a regular season that saw record-breaking business success, propelled in large part by the NHL's strategy of engaging fans through big events and robust digital offerings."[118] This success has resulted in a 66 percent rise in NHL advertising and sponsorship revenue. Collins said "It was a great Stanley Cup run, really across every possible metric .... Our fans are consuming more hockey." Merchandise sales were up 22 percent and the number of unique visitors on the NHL.com website were up 17 percent during the playoffs after rising 29 percent in the regular season.[119]

Causes

The NHL advocates for a number of causes throughout the season. During the days leading up to Remembrance Day (November 11, known as Veterans Day in the United States), in respect of the day, coaches and other NHL officials wear red poppy lapel pins. Hockey Fights Cancer is a joint initiative founded in December 1998 by the National Hockey League and the National Hockey League Players' Association to raise money and awareness for hockey's most important fight. It is supported by NHL Member Clubs, NHL Alumni, the NHL Officials' Association, Professional Hockey Trainers and Equipment Managers, corporate marketing partners, broadcast partners and fans.[120]

Footnotes

^ The Montreal Canadiens have won 22 Stanley Cups since 1926 when the Cup became the de facto NHL championship trophy. In addition they won three earlier NHL championships, in 1918–19 when the Spanish flu cancelled the Stanley Cup finals, in 1923–24 when they also won the Stanley Cup and in 1924–25 when they lost in the Stanley Cup finals to the Victoria Cougars of the WCHL. (The Canadiens have also won a 24th Stanley Cup as a member of the NHA.)

National Hockey League — ➡ hockey * * * organization of professional ice hockey teams in North America, formed in 1917 by five Canadian teams, to which the first U.S. team, the Boston Bruins, was added in 1924. The NHL became the strongest league in North America and in … Universalium

National Hockey League rivalries — Rivalries in the National Hockey League (NHL) have occurred between many teams and cities. Rivalries have arisen for many different reasons, the primary ones including geographic proximity, familiarity with opponents, on ice incidents (violence) … Wikipedia